Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-06-26
DAILY HERALD.
SEVERING THE CITY.
Necessity of a Thorough
Sewerage System.
IMPORTANT PLAN PROPOSED.
Safety, Security and Profit Insured
A system That Will Pay
for Itself.
DAILY HERALD.
SEWERING THE CITY.
IMPORTANT PLAN PROPOSED

No subject can be Of more immediate
importance than that of sewering the
city Of Los Angeles. and conveying the
sewage far beyond the confines of the
evaporation. The present sewerage
ras planned when Los Angeles was
comparatively a small town of about
II, 600 inhabitants, but how the city
contains over $1,000 persons and at the
present rate of increase will contain
25O, 900 in less. than fifteen years. A
system Of sewerage must at once be
commenced to protect the health and
lives of the people from the inevitable
diseases that come forth from sewage
and cesspools.
1t ia well established by medical
scientific research that large class OF
diseases are caused by the germs that
arise from cesspools and sewers. The
case does not admit of argument. The
demonstrations have been made and the
fact settled. Typhoid fever, typhoid
pneumonia, pleuro pneumonia, opthal.
mia diphtheria, relapsing and typhus
fever, glanders, tubercular consumption,
splenic fever; smallpox and other erur-
tive fevers, have been proved to have
been caused by these germs. A promi.
nent and deadly germ is that called
Bacillus anthracis that circulates in the
blood of persons and horses afflicted
with pleuro pneumonia and consump-
tion. Blood has been taken from
horses dying of pneumonia, and other
animals have been inoculated with it,
even after the blood was dried, and the
inoculated animals died of the same
disease. The great medical chem
lists Koch aud Patteur, have
taken this bacillus from the lungs
of persons who have died of consumption
and with it have inocuiated rabbits and
guinea pigs, all of which died OF con-
sumption as was proved by post mortem
examination. Cases might be multiplied
to show that these deadly germs are
produced by filth, Of which cessp0ols
and sewers are the largest source Of pro-
duction. 1t is well known that q large
maturity Of the cases OF fever in cities is
caused by the presence of matter that
should be carried off as sewage before
the development of these deadly germs.
The warm weather of Los Angeles is
especially favorable to the rapid devel.
opment Of disease germs in filth. The
filth of the city must be removed beyond
the bounds of the city limits and all that
cannot be utilized as fertilizer must be
cast into the sea. The question now
comes home to every one VINO wishes to
ga ard Los Angeles against serious, con.
tagious and fatal diseases, how to sewer
the city IN the completest manner and
how to take care of the sewage so as to
avoid disease, and if possible turn that
sewage to profita9 lie account SO that
revenue can be derived therefrom sutfi-
cieut to pay ut maturity all the bonds
that might be issued for the construction
of the system.
A scheme to accomplish this great ard
benefcent result is now being prepared
and appears to meet all the requirements
of the case. The city surveyor, MIR.
Frederick Eaton, is preparing compre-
heusive plan to sewer. the city completely
and to transport the sewage to the
sea. The plan is made in minute and
careful manner and If carried out will
accomplish the object desired; complete
sewerage, removal of sewage in q safe
and proper mann er far beyond the city
limits to land where it can be utilizsd
- fertilizer when needed, and when
not 20 used, permitted to be discharged
into the sea, distant from any harbor or
settlement.
All who have examined the present
sewer terminus mnst see that the system
of carrying the sewage in open earth
bitches, rough and porous, as practiced
ut the south side of the city, is bad as
we'll as very dangerous. The bitches
cannot be cleansed, and they become
encased with suspended matter that is
constantly giving off offensive odors and
disease germs. The locality is now in
the midst of thickly settled district,
and the gases menace the health
of all who live near these
pestilential bitches. Besides, the
land now used at the outfall of the old
sewer is very rich and needs no fertiliz-
ing. Ii the sultivators of the land need
water for irrigation the city will here
after be able to supply them in abund-
ance, from the fact that SO much of the
orchard and vineyard land in the central
part of the city has been taken for resi-
dence and business purposes that the
system of flooding the land, as formerly
practiced, will no longer prevail and the
city will have large surplus OF water
for outside irrigators.
The plan chosen by the City Surveyor
contemplates for the central and west
ern portion of the city q large conduit
that shall receive the sewage of that por-
tion of the city at the southwest corner of
the city aud pass in direct line in a
southwesterly direction through the
southeast corner of Agricultural Park
and intervening lands to the Sausal Re.
doudo and Centinela ranchos.. The
length of the line will be only eight
miles and the number of owners of land
through which the line would pass is
not large, so that the acquiring of the
right OF way would not be laborious.
When these rlnchos are reached the
proprietors of six thousand acres, with the
probable control of four thousand acres
more. will give the right OF way about
eight miles moro over their lands to the
ocean These gentlemen further offer
to lay lateral branches of cement or
glazed pipe, or open cement bitches
when not Objectionable, made in such u
manner that they can be flushed and
cleansed at any time and receive and
use the sewage in the fertilization of the
soil. care being taken to have the flow
put at once beneath the soil, SO that it
answers the purpose of irrigation and
fertiliz alton. Such a plan will make the
land of great commercial value for the
raising Of alfalfa, vegetables, fruit trees
and small fruits. To further assist the
city in this matter the proprietors make
this most liberal offer: They will place
q valuation on their lands of one hun.
drsd dollars psr acre as their present
interest in the property. After the sew
age shall have been applied, it is likely
that the land will greatly increase in
value. and these gentlemen propose to